The Search For The Lion Turtle
by Tankou001
Summary: Long before the time of Avatar Aang the start of a war shook the world but the story of Chao Shi was much smaller. A young man searches for a Lion Turtle so that he may rise above the fact that unlike his whole family, he cannot bend. M for many things!


The Search For The Lion Turtle

An OC Only Fanfiction

Hello All! Tankou001 here with a new fic for you! Recently I have been role playing online and I looked back at another character from a site I used to be on. It was on an Avatar: The Last Airbender RP. My character never really got the chance to be used so I thought I would bring him, a pretty wonderful but wasted character, into a fanfic. Now, before we start this story you need to get into the right mind set. We are so very used to Aang and his friends traveling around in their quest to stop the fiere Nation. Still that isn't what I want this to be about. That's another fanfic entirely. No, I want you all to think back. Go before Aang and Roku, before Kyoshi and before even Koruk and Yangchen. Go back a full cycle even before then. This is hundreds of years before even the Avatar preceding Yangchen herself. We'll go back seven avatars before Yangchen to the water tribe avatar, Avatar Tankou. The world has been in peace for many generations. However, the Water Tribe has recently become troublesome, inciting a few rebelious acts against the world. The Chief of the North, Panta, has been plotting and even Avatar Tankou hasn't been aware of the most recent ideas taking place in the water tribes.

This isn't, however, the story of the avatar proper. No, this story revolves around one of the Earth Kingdom, Chao Shi. He is of humble birth, possessing no skill at all of the art of earthbending. While this is a story of the war between the Water Tribes and the rest of the world it centers around the most unlikely of heroes. The son of a potter and an earthbending teacher disowned by his own family and taken into the wilds to live on his own. Alone he searches for a Lion Turtle with his animal companions, trying to learn the ways of the greatest and largest creatures on the planet. There will be fighting alongside the Avatar in this story but it is Chao Shi's story, not that of Avatar Tankou.

Enjoy!

{HR}

Chapter One: And Our Purpose Is Revealed

The noon day sun beat down on a tree under which a young man snoozed, unaware of the world around him. The man possessed a deep tan, deeper than most of his Earth Kingdom kin. His hair was short, black and unkempt. His eyes of green couldn't be seen but they certainly were there. He couldn't have been over twenty years of age. Countless small charms adorned his figure; bracelets and ear piercing, a necklace with a mirror for a pendant. A rice farmer's hat covered the top half of his face to block the heavy rays of the sun even through the shade of the tree. This straw hat had even more charms adorning it, all hanging by thread from the rim of the hat itself; A bone dice made into a bead and a little figurine of a dragon, a bell and a small green gemstone with the string threaded through the middle. His clothes were tattered beyond belief and only of the standard traveler's style. On his belt were a pair of very well taken care of blacksmith gloves and an oversized smithing hammer which would have been small enough to wield as a weapon with one hand but only just and only for one with a powerful arm. The man's body was just that, powerful. He had a lithe frame, sculpted perfectly into the quintessencial acrobat. His body had no fat on it and all of his mass was made of toned muscle, no extra bulk at all. He was made for flexibility and acrobatics.

A lump in the center of the chest of his shirt stirred and traveled up to his collar, a meadow vole popping its head out and squeaking merrily. The young man stirred as well when the meadow vole jumped to his face and bounced around on his nose. He stretched his arms and yawned loudly, kicking himself up into a sitting position as the little vole leaped onto his lap. "Alright, Kio. I suppose it's time to wake up. I was having such a wonderful nap though..." This was Chao Shi; the disowned son of a potter and earthbending teacher, the sister of an earthbending prodigy. He had been born to two earthbenders and had never manifested the gift himself. His five years younger sister, however, had been a prodigy from an early age. She was, unlike Chao Shi himself, a very stern individual, a brat who seemed unable to be cordial; always serious, never taking time to relax. Chao Shi's sister had been the sole reason that he left.

Nineteen years ago Chao Shi had been born to his mother and father, the family that expected he would be an earthbending prodigy because of their good genes. Surely the son of two talented benders would be a bender himself. This was not so in Chao Shi's case. Chao Shi never manifested the gift of bending and his parents soon enough let go of their hopes. At five Chao Shi had already shown a liking to animals but his mother, a potter by trade, wouldn't stand for an animal in the house that could destroy her works. At five Chao Shi was gifted with a sister, Ban Xue. She turned out to be everything Chao Shi was not. She was calm, stiff, serious and, most of all, an eartbender of great potential and talent. Chao Shi didn't begrudge his parents in showing her more love than he right from the start. He was happy that they had been given a daughter who could earthbend and happy that they no longer pressed him to work so hard with Ban Xue present and able to soak up all of the attention. It was a good thing, even if most children wouldn't think such things.

At ten years of age Chao Shi's parents brought the five years old Ban Xue to an earthbending competition. There earthbenders battled each other with their earthbending, Chao Shi's parents thinking that Ban Xue would learn and grow more skilled if she watched professionals use their bending. Ban Xue was so intent on it that Chao Shi wasn't noticed at all the whole time at the competition. He wasn't noticed, that is, until he intervened personally. Naturally Badgermoles were broken in and trained to fix the arena after fights. A young badgermole was tired and suffering under the bondage of the men who ran the show. They yelled at the badgermole and beat him for taking too long and Chao Shi couldn't take it. As the speaker scolded and beat the badgermole Chao Shi leaped from the stands, grabbing a hammer from a worker and striking the man against the temple soundly to save the badgermole. Chao Shi caused as much commotion as possible and worked to let the poor badgermole escape. He was soon caught after turning loose the badgermole and chastised heavily. His parents beat him, scolded him. Ban Xue only ever spoke harshly to him and disapproved of Chao Shi's heinous actions. He had ruined the competition that she had been meant to see. He couldn't understand the need that she had to better her art because he was nothing but a powerless child who couldn't understand the importance that she was to the family. She was only five years old and already she was far more important to her parents than Chao Shi had ever been.

Days later Chao Shi sat against his favorite tree, the birds chirping above him as he held the hammer he had stolen from the arena. Never had he once let it go until they arrived home. As he sat he felt a rumbling beneath and stood to see the same badgermole he had protected emerging to the surface in front of him. It bonded with him and, despite his parents begging him to chase away the beast, Chao Shi was set on keeping the badgermole he would soon come to know as Ton Bao. Ton Bao eventually was accepted into the family, albeit begrudgingly. His parents were wary around Ton Bao but soon learned to accept him for more than just a beast Ton Bao followed many already set in commands and largely made the life of the family easier despite their need to feed him. Ban Xue, of course, didn't approve in the slightest but Ton Bao's presence was more convenient than troublesome and soon enough he had been accepted not as a pet and beast of burden but as family. Chao Shi soon also picked up a meadow vole, Kio. This small creature was so tiny in comparison to Ton Bao that it was barely noticed. Meadow Voles were friendly creatures and well mannered. They were small enough to feed without problems though even then they normally fed themselves. Kio was instantly accepted into the family and Ban Xue's disapproval only increased. Ban Xue, now eight years old, continued to disapprove of and insult her parents' lax allowance of Chao Shi's growing menagerie. A meadow vole was not a pet, but a wild animal and Badgermoles belonged in earthbending arenas or caves, not in the family of a potter and teacher. Chao Shi was overstepping Ban Xue's metaphorical bounds.

Only a year later the fourteen years old Chao Shi was sent to Ba Sing Se, the Earth Kingdom Capital. He had gone to sell his mother's pottery in the capital, hoping to bring some pride to his family by bringing their reputation to the capital where they would become well known. He sold and sold and sold some more from his cart. He had sold half in a week when he walked through a lonely street. Kio, who was the only one capable of accompanying Chao Shi into the city, had been on alert and it was this alert that made Chao Shi aware of a large pride of pygmy pumas ganging up on one very old, lone pygmy puma. The poor thing was torn apart already and only had one eye, a gnarled scar where the left should have been The others were trying to kill the poor old puma. Chao Shi rushed in to help him and the resulting chaos led to the destruction of the rest of Chao Shi's wares. The old puma attached in days to Chao Shi, following him from the capital back home and integrating himself quickly into the family. Lu Bei, so he soon came to be called, was a skilled hunter and managed to always kill any house pests that reared their heads. He hunted for himself, taking only the room of a corner at night and no food at all. Ban Xue argued but Chao Shi, though not a bender and not half as important to their parents as his sister, simply had brought animals far too useful to the family. Ban Xue couldn't rid the family of the three animals that had easily become family. Ton Bao could help built and work as any badgermole would. Kio was hardly noticeable at all and kept insects from the grain stores. Lu Bei hunted larger pests and was overall a very acceptable pet despite his gnarled features. Three animals Ban Xue couldn't rid herself of gnawed at her until she was ready to break. She went to plotting against her older brother, trying, at all costs, to find any way to remedy the family of the preposterous menagerie that Chao Shi was gathering and, if she could in any way, of the older brother that brought next to nothing to the household and took food, space and attention away from Ban Xue herself. In what world would the brother of hers, who wasn't a bender at all, much less one of moderate skill, be anything to warrant any attention at all from their parents when Ban Xue existed, so much better and more important than her non-bending brother.

Three years went by and Ban Xue continue to grow, and not just taller. Her hatred of the animals her brother kept continued to grow and nothing would subside. During the last three years she had tried to find ways to rid herself of her stupid brother, of his stupid pets. The companions and obviously her brother, were just too well accepted. Chao Shi grew more and more charismatic in the eyes of both animals and humanity. He took in pathetic little animals who had been injured and nursed them back to help before setting them free again. Ban Xue's parents accepted it and so did their village. Chao Shi, though a symbol of mild controversy and confusion, was too well liked. He wasn't only a helper of the people but of the animals around the village. Ban Xue wasn't at all losing any attention as she gained bending prowess but now something nagged at her more. There was one in the village better at bending even than her. She had never realized it before but it now was very much apparent to her. Ton Bao was a natural earthbender as he was the very type of creature that humans learned the art from. He didn't only bend to move the land. He used earthbending to see, to interact, to live. Ton Bao was naturally better than her and as he was the most cemented companion of Chao Shi he was therefor the most difficult to get rid of. Ban Xue brooded but finally her chance came. Over the years she had struggled to convince her parents that Chao Shi's monstrous companions didn't care for the family proper. They only obeyed Chao Shi himself. If Chao Shi ever felt in a bad mood they would all surely be attacked. The fact that Ban Xue knew this wasn't true at all didn't mean she wouldn't use it. Still her parents knew that it wasn't true as well. Now Chao Shi brought a Fox Antelope, a dangerous creature if provoked. The young fox antelope was wounded and Chao Shi nursed it back to health. The night before he was to set it back into the wild Ban Xue sprung her trap. She stole off to the barn in the middle of the night. There the creature rested, content on the silence. She had jumped out and scared it and had taken a hoof to the gut and chest. This alone was enough to strengthen Ban Xue's side but her broken rib cemented her advantage. She screamed at her parents that Chao Shi's animals were dangerous and, reluctantly, they agreed and told Chao Shi that he would have to relinquish all of his animal companions. As Chao Shi tried to cover the fox antelope somehow he noted Ban Xue smiling behind their parents. He knew that she had staged it just so she could get rid of the animals. Now Chao Shi's parents would agree with her. "It's high time you grow up and become a proper man, Chao Shi." They told him "You have played with dumb animals long enough. We cannot allow you to stay a child and have illusions of these childish fantasies. We have tolerated them long enough. You simply must get rid of them."

Chao Shi cried out but his father had struck him, yelling at him that they had dealt with enough of his childish nonsense. Chao Shi noted Ban Xue chuckling behind their parents and stood angrily. "She planned this! Ban Xue never liked any of them! She set the poor creature up so she could get rid of them!" Chao Shi advanced on her sister, moving to strike her. All three of the family stopped him, bending the earth around him and planting him to the floor. "You never liked them!" he cried. "You never loved me when you had my sister to live up to your foolish dreams! I should have found out a long time ago that humanity wasn't where I belonged! I'll leave you all and leave you happy with the child that you wanted! Humans are liars and cheaters! You only loved Ban Xue because she was everything you wanted that I couldn't be!"

That night Chao Shi made to leave and spotted his sister at the barn. "You have finally found your place, brother." She had told him. "I don't see why you never realized it before. In what world would you warrant any attention when I live? In what world would anyone even notice you when I, who is so much more important, so much more useful, am present? You should have realized seven... No, twelve years ago, when I was born, that you didn't belong in this family. You have only ever brought us shame. You are better off not existing than appearing as the useless son of this family. I think it is better for all of us that you are leaving." Ban Xue paused. "And if I ever see you again I will take your life. It would be better that you were dead than alive to make more trouble." Chao Shi, enraged, leaped at his sister but again her earthbending stopped him, pulling his legs underground and anchoring his arms in place. "I told you, brother. You are nothing to me." She had said. "You will leave this place and never come back... I won't tolerate your existence any further so make sure that you stay out of my sight. No matter how good you get you won't ever be as good as I. Try as you might I will always be untouchable to your base hands."

Chao Shi had left that night angered and hurt. He had taken in the fox antelope, who he named Weisheng and fled. A year later they had found a dead Boar-Q-Pine and mourned for it. Chao Shi, however, did find the dead Baor-Q-Pine's offspring, a female baby boar-q-pine who he named Ba Xua. They would all become his new family. They traveled and passed through many villages, helping out the needy and being hired on by smaller villages for odd jobs. He mastered the art of Dim Mak, the death touch style. He could stop benders of any sort by forcibly collapsing their pressure points, making their bodies unable to move, unable to work at all. He had become a craftsman, cook, farmer and fisherman as well as every other generic profession in the Earth Kingdom. When one lived off the land and got money from odd jobs they needed to be able to accept any opportunity for work that reared its head.

Chao Shi, however, now seeked something more than just helping people. He was on a pilgrimage to search for an animal nobody had ever tamed. Chao Shi didn't seek to tame this beast. No, he sought to commune with it. The largest animal in the world, a lion turtle. The lion turtles were the oldest things alive, the most amazing creatures in the world. They knew things from the very beginning of time and it was said that any that lived were older than the age of the Avatar altogether. They all existed before the avatar, or even bending, were a concept among humanity and animals alike. The Badgermoles no doubt hadn't even begun to exist in the age of the Lion Turtle. The dragons hadn't been thought of yet as anything but a creature made from the mind of a child. The moon hadn't even been seen as an object of note and the sky bison no doubt didn't exist apart from their land bound cousins. Humanity probably didn't even exist in the time of the Lion Turtle and therefor the Lion Turtles would know more than any amount of human writing could know. Chao Shi didn't want to know for selfish reasons, of course. The Lion Turtles were said to be the very most majestic of beings; knowledgible beyond compare, endlessly wise and timelessly patient. Chao Shi wanted to know that patience, that wisdom, so he could embrace it. All his life he had been stuck within the norm of humanity, to be crushed under the feet of benders and those who were older, more skilled, more "important" than he. Chao Shi wanted to learn to separate himself from this not to rise above but to cease caring at all. Chao Shi wanted to become one with the nature around him. He wanted to learn from the Lion Turtles and embrace their ways. He wanted to become something other than human, something other than animal or element. He wanted to become something entirely separate from everything as the Lion Turtles had to be.

So he had sought the Lion Turtle for two years since leaving his family. Now he sat under the tree waiting for his companions to arrive or wake. Ba Xua roused slowly next to him, shaking her spiky body a bit before crawling to his side. Lu Bei stirred in the branches above and climbed down, landing next to Chao Shi. Weisheng stood behind the tree, eating the meadow grass in leisure. In the distance Ton Bao climbed from the earth and shook the excess dirt free from his form. "Alright, today we travel some more. I have a feeling we'll find something fun today, guys!" Chao Shi exclaimed as he stepped to Ton Bao, the now adult badgermole incredibly large and always ready to give rides to those in the group that wanted them. Obviously Chao Shi didn't know what they were saying when they spoke in their own language but he always talked to them and insisted he could tell what they were thinking or what they needed. Naturally he had spent so long with the lot of his companions that he could read them like books just as they could read him similarly. They set out immediately. Chao Shi, Kio and Ba Xua all rode on Ton Bao's back. Ton Bao was large enough to keep every member of the team on his back without trouble. Weisheng, however, had a bit of an odd frame and thus didn't tend to hitch rides on Ton Bao's back. Lu Bei, while having no difficulty at all in sitting on Ton Bao, was simply too proud. He was a very old Pygmy Puma, after all. He had to keep his standards just as high as his age. He couldn't be seen riding atop Ton Bao when his own legs were better for him. It would be disgraceful. That said, Lu Bei near always trotted beside the great badgermole while Weishing took bounding leaps every now and then to keep up, never in any great hurry.

Hours went by and Chao Shi yawned, lazy from the day sun beating down on him. Kio was asleep in his shirt and Ba Xua, the little spiky ball of cuteness, slept soundly on Ton Bao's back beside Chao Shi. He stood up and looked into the distance, spotting what had to be a settlement ahead. He pat Ton Bao's back. "There's a settlement up ahead! Full speed, Ton Bao!" Hearing this, the badgermole began moving faster toward the ahead location. To sleep the night among humans other than Chao Shi was a rare treat since settlements rarely allowed the team to stop by without doing some heavy work. Still, Chao Shi and his group always worked for their keep. Chao Shi was the greatest worker at odd jobs alive. He could pound metal into a sword and build a house by himself in a day. He could repair roofs or go fishing, hunt for food or help plant crops. Chao Shi was the master jack of all trades but unlike any other jack of all trades he could say that instead of being just proficient he was a master of many things and better than many at most things. Two years with only his animal partners to care for him he had learned everything from carpentry to outdoorsman skill to making medicine and salves. Soon enough the team arrived at the border of the village and everyone there gathered at the border as well. Many men had already come forward with spears and pitchforks as well as other various weapons with which to defend the village. Chao Shi laughed at this and slid down Ton Bao's foreleg, waving his arms about. "People, please! My name is Chao Shi and I haven't come to attack your village! I have come to lend you all my services. My friends and I come to offer any help we can offer for a minimal fee and the lodging that we will need for the time we shall stay. Give us a task and we shall complete it!"

Chao Shi tumbled forward and stood bolt upright in front of a man who's pitchfork was terribly gnarled and bent out of shape. "For a few coppers I could fix that sad pitchfork and everything else in your tool shed." He happily spoke out, rolling sideways to stand next to another man who had just stepped from a home with a hole in the wall. "For a bit of food I would repair that wall of your house in less than an hour, sir." He continued. He turned to another villager, this one a woman. "Maybe you, miss, don't have quite the right herbs and spices to make your food taste right or perhaps you lack the bigger ingredients. I could go look for the herbs and hunt down a good meal in a couple hours if only you would let me sit in on the meal." Chao Shi tumbled back over to Ton Bao's side, picking up Lu Bei and holding him high for everyone to see. "My good friend, Lu Bei is a wonderful hunter of farm pests! He'll capture every pig-rat in a mile and you don't have to thank him in any way but a few scratches on the head and a warm cushion by the nightly fire!"

The villagers looked skeptical but Chao Shi had yet another idea, climbing up onto Ton Bao's back and pattiong him. "If you need any big foundations made my partner, Ton Bao, can flatten any surface of earth for you and make sure your home will stand strong for a hundred years granted the only thing that happens is the shaking of the earth itself." Chao Shi picked up Ba Xua and set her on his head. She clinged onto his hair and made him look to possess a ridiculous afro of spikey hair. "We also do comedy in case you want a good joke! Ba Xua may be young but she is a wonderfully funny wig and an adorable friend of no mean reputation!" Chao Shi reached into his shirt and pulled out Kio, showing him around. "Do you have an insect problem, perhaps? No biting flies will get past my good pal, Kio! Give him an hour and your grain stores will be rid of any unwanted worms and weevil free of charge!" Chao Shi slid again down Ton Bao's foreleg and called over Weisheng, who obediantly approached him, looking at the group cautiously. "She may not seem it but my good companion, Weisheng, is very friendly! If your children desire a bit of a ride I am sure she would be fine with giving the young ones a ride while the adults work! She makes the most wonderful of babysitters, better than any neighbor with too many things on their mind already. With Weisheng around watching your young ones you and your neighbor can achieve twice the work in half the time while leaving the children in the company of a friendly little fox antelope!" Chao Shi noticed some of the younger women of the village giggling at his antics and smiled, knowing that his words were, indeed, selling his services already. "Please, everybody, let yourselves fall at ease! Team Chao Shi is here to help with near anything you may have for them! If you will keep us for a night we will serve you as well as we can! Keep us for longer and we promise not only to be as cordial as we can but that we will try our hardest to help the village further and serve the people of this lovely little settlement! Anyone attacks, fear not, Team Chao Shi will provide the protection you need free of charge! It is all for the greater good of the village anyway!"

The people certainly were seeming to accept the fact that Chao Shi and company meant good but an old man stepped forward, looking regal among the villagers. The others stepped aside as the old man approached Chao Shi and spoke up. "Young man?" He spoke out with wisdom deep in his voice. "I am the village elder and leader. Do you really mean as well as you claim?"

Chao Shi smiled and nodded frantically. "Absolutely, sir! We are on a pilgrimage to all the lands of the world! We seek to earn our keep by doing acts of good and helping the people! I only ask for food and lodging for most of my services. A few coppers here, a silver there; small prices for my more difficult jobs. I understand that not every village we cross is as wealthy as the capital and I don't like the big city as much as some. Mainly our payment would come in food and supplies. We have small need of money but you must understand that some jobs are simply too difficult and time consuming to be payed for in food and lodging alone. I promise, however, that even the more expensive services are cheap to even the humble folk of the poorest of villages. Surely this bountiful village can handle a couple coppers to make life a bit easier."

The Elder nodded. "I am happy that someone of such generosity has come to our village. We do need some construction done and lack the money to hire proper carpenters. We haven't much but we can feed you all well and house you as long as you can prove helpful. I am sure you understand what I am saying, don't you, young man?"

Chao Shi again nodded frantically. "Something can always be worked out! If money is a resource in small number I know that all villages have something of worth that they have enough of to get rid of. Trade is yet another skill of mine and I know very well that we will come upon a fair deal to both parties. If you lack money how about spices or furs. Maybe things like pots or urns could be given. If pieces like that were traded I could sell them away elsewhere and give those who desire the source a point in the right direction. That way your village's art pieces and work would spread and bring wealth to the village."

The elder nodded and made a noise of approval. "You are wise beyond your years, young man. I believe we could do easy business. Are your..." The man struggled for a bit. "Partners tame?"

Chao Shi snapped his fingers and Lu Bei padded up to the old man, sniffing his leg and rubbing against it. "I can guarantee, sir, that all of my companions are as gentle as can be. Weisheng is a bit skittish but very caring. Ton Bao is very gentle and Lu Bei, though old and set in his ways, is very friendly when given due respect. Kio is just too small to do harm and any injuries that Ba Xua causes I can assure aren't intentional. She is, after all, a baby. She's just a more spikey baby than most." At that note Chao Shi went rigid as Ba Xua tried Lu Bei's rubbing trick on Chao Shi's leg, stabbing him a few times. Chao Shi danced about a bit and pulled a stray spine from his leg before picking Ba Xua up and placing her atop his head again, allowing her to clamp down. "Though, for the good of the village I would suggest not trying to play with her too much. She doesn't know that she is as dangerous as she is yet."

The Elder nodded before turning away. He explained that they were all safe and before long Chao Shi had been hired on by the village as a whole. Weisheng was immediately put to her babysitting. Weisheng's babysitting, however, mainly consisted of hearding children around, nuzzling them playfully and making sure none of them strayed too far from the othe children. This alone seemed to satisfy the younger villagers as they giggled and screamed in glee when Weisheng raced back and forth after separate children. They seemed to make a game out of it, trying to get away in varying numbers in different directions to keep Weisheng from effectively herding them back into the group proper. Of course the fox antelope was used to these games. She had quite the bit of experience already and her motherly instincts only drove this skill into an even higher level.

Apparently the village had been having a pest problem as well and Lu Bei was quickly sent out to go to work killing various rodents and devouring them among the fields. Kio was sent into the grain stores to capture any bugs that loomed about. He ate grains and bugs alike but knew his mission when it was given. These were not new orders, in any way, to the meadow vole. Chao Shi and Ton Bao went to working on construction projects. Ton Bao prepared the ground for houses, flattening the land out and raising or lowering it when needed. Chao Shi started building and repairing, aided by the villagers who already knew how to built good houses. Naturally any villager worth his salt would know how to build a hut but good carpentry, even among the whole of a village, was harder to come by than simple hut builders. Chao Shi trusted his hammer to the job as usual. Long had the hammer been his favorite tool. He had used it to hammer anything from nails to swords to tools and everything else where a hammer could be used.

Chao Shi aided the men of the village in fishing, hunting and building. Chao Shi aided the village women in cooking and the lesser crafts. He aided everyone in farming and gathering. The people were all very nice to him and why shouldn't they be? Chao Shi's group was acting their very best and helping incredibly. All they had to do was feed and house team Chao Shi for the most part. Lu Bei, Kio, Weisheng and Ton Bao all normally got whatever they needed from the wild even when food was offered. Ba Xua and Chao Shi were the only ones who really needed food provided and if that was it such a thing was easy. The villagers had already all been told this much. All they had to feed was a human man and a baby boar-q-pine. As it was Kio and Lu Bei would be well fed tonight after hunting down pests and eating them. It was all very good when the job you did happened to be eating the pests of someone else. You were appreciated and fed at the same time and never would anyone see that your job was something that you enjoyed. Night fell and gradually the village calmed down, the noises of screaming children and banging hammers subsiding. Nobody was calling out orders or sawing boards to repair and build houses anymore. Now another noise was being made. It was one of celebration. With the help of Team Chao Shi the village had gotten much more work than usual done. Their pest problem was no more and Weisheng had done such a superb job of taking care of the children that, for once, all of them were far too worn out from play to stay awake. Their games of trying to run away from their babysitter had worn them into unconsciousness and all the while nobody had needed to be taken away from the work that needed to be done. The job of five people had been done by one motherly fox antelope instead. Chao Shi drank a dark beer now, enjoying the praise of the villagers. "Such a wonderful young man, he is." Said one villager. "Why I wish you could stay longer, Chao Shi. If you just moved on into the village I am sure we would make this town bigger and better in no time."

Chao Shi just shook his head with a smile. "Sorry about that. I have this wanderlust that doesn't let me settle down, you know?"

Another villager laughed and stepped up to Chao Shi, holding his mug against Chao Shi's. "I think I know what could keep you here. I'll tell you, Chao Shi, my daughter is a little wild but I am sure if you settled into town you two would be a great couple. I'll let you move into our house if you don't feel welcome yet. You can marry my daughter. She'll keep you here."

There it was. Chao Shi always had gotten at least one offer for a man's daughter while in a village. It had clearly only been a matter of time, after all. What man wouldn't want a son-in-law who wasn't only sure to keep his daughter company, out of trouble and pleased but was also a major asset to the village? Arranged marriages were popular among the small villages, fathers marrying their daughters to the sons of good friends. Those two would grow up together and be bound to fall in love anyway. Still Chao Shi had no taste for such things, no matter how pretty the girl in question. "Sorry, sir. I am sure your daughter is a very beautiful woman but I can't stand to stay in one place for too long. I must decline your generous offer."

The man sighed in disappointment and shook his head. "How about you see her first, then?" He made a whistle and through the crowd walked a wonderful young woman.

Chao Shi had told himself that no matter how beautiful the woman was he wouldn't take any offers but some of these women made denying an offer more difficult than others. This just happened to be one of those very women. She was short but very well built, a good chest and beautiful, flawlessly tanned skin. Her hair was tied up in a wonderful bun and her eyes were a green deeper than the most lush of forests. She bowed slowly to Chao Shi and smiled. Chao Shi just marveled a moment before shaking the awe from his mind and straightening up. "I apologize, sir. I cannot take your offer." The man gasped and so did many in the area. "While your daughter is truly one of the single most beautiful women I have ever seen I am on a mission not only for myself but for my partners. Please, sir. Forgive me for my denial of your most generous offer but nobody is going to keep me from my goal, no matter how beautiful they may be. I have made a promise and I intend to keep it." The man just looked at Chao Shi in awe as he swallowed down the last of his ale and set the mug down. "Please excuse me, I am retiring for the night. I look forward to seeing you all in the morning."

Slowly Chao Shi departed from the partying and returned to his companions, sighing as he sat against Ton Bao as the great badgermole slept soundly, gentle snores flowing from the beast. Lu Bei walked over, still not asleep and sat on Chao Shi's lap, licking at his hand slowly. Lu Bei was like that. He was really the only one in Team Chao Shi who cared about bathing and more so than anything Chao Shi had ever seen. When Lu Bei wasn't doing a job or cleaning himself he was cleaning someone else. He was very thorough about it too. When Chao Shi would try to pull his hand away Lu Bei would pin it down with his paw, threatening to dig in with his claws until he was satisfied with the cleanliness of Chao Shi's hands. Lu Bei's cleaning skills weren't just on Chao Shi. Lu Bei had once taken it upon himself to personally groom Ton Bao, a process that took forever since Ton Bao, as a badgermole, lived in the dirt. Strangely Lu Bei even cleaned Kio without the slightest hint of wanting to eat him. Chao Shi suspected that, even though they weren't pygmy pumas, they were all part of Lu Bei's "pride" and thus weren't edible. Lu Bei paid no attention to other pygmy pumas, only to team Chao Shi.

As Chao Shi waited with Lu Bei and Ton Bao he sensed someone approaching. He looked out the door of the barn from his position to see the old man's daughter was walking in to see him. There was just no quitting for these small town folks, was there? She approached and Chao Shi spoke up, trying to lift his hand to wave her away but Lu Bei refused to relinquish his hold on the hand, digging his claws into Chao Shi's palm so that it wouldn't leave. Chao Shi instead waved his other hand. "I am sorry, miss. I made my statement. There's no way you can change my mind."

The girl paused for a moment. It was hard to see her in the dim light of the barn. However, soon she spoke up. "I.. I didn't want to see you for that. I just wanted to talk with you. Would it be alright if I joined you?"

Chao Shi hesitated. Was this a trap? Of course if it was it wpould do nothing to keep Chao Shi around. "Alright, if you like. Grab some floor, I suppose."

The girl stepped up and sat down beside Chao Shi. She smelled of healthy soil and freshly threshed grain, a perfect scent for Chao Shi, who had spent so much time learning to fully appreciate the natural world around him. "My name is Kanja." She said softly. "Thank you for offering your services to the village. But... I wanted to ask... since I couldn't ask earlier." Chao Shi turned to look at her. "What is the promise you made?"

Chao Shi gave a chuckle. "I guess it's hard to explain. I don't like telling people about it. There's no reason why I shouldn't tell, of course. I just don't like to spread the news I guess." Kanja raised an eyebrow at this. "I want to find a Lion Turtle."

"Why would you ever want to do that?" Kanja asked in slight shock. "Aren't they huge and powerful."

"Yes..." Chao Shi gave an answer. "And old as time itself. They lived before the avatar, before bending. They would be a vault of endless knowledge that I could use for the betterment of everything and, most of all, to part myself from everyone."

"You mean," Kanja started, "Part yourself from humanity?" Chao Shi gave a slight nod. "Why would you want to do that?"

Chao Shi gave yet another chuckle. Such was the average question. "Does anyone in this village earthbend, Kanja?" Kanja nodded slowly, moving her hand to the ground and making the area underneath her palm rise a bit with her own earthbending. "Ya... I don't have that. I am the only member of my family in three generations that can't bend. My mother is a potter and my father an earthbending teacher. When it was found out that I couldn't earthbend my parents forgot about me and, five years after I was born, had my sister, Ban Xue. She's a prodigy, a better earthbender than anyone I have ever met except for Ton Bao here." Kanja looked a little shocked. "But it does get worse." Chao Shi spoke up. "Once my sister was born and once I started making companions my sister dedicated her life to ruining mine." Chao Shi thought a long way back, two years, far more than he would have liked to remember. "In what world would I, a useless non-bender, warrant any attention when she is present?" Chao Shi said, a sad smile on his face.

"But that's not right!" Kanja cried out, unsettling Ton Bao a bit before the gigantic badgermole relaxed again. "People who don't bend in this village are still just as important as benders!"

"But not in my family. I decided, back then, that humans were liars and cheaters. I decided that I didn't belong in humanity any longer. I promised my companions a year ago that I would find the Lion Turtle and become something more than human so I could part myself from the woes of humanity." Chao Shi said softly.

"Then why did you not attack us?" Kanja asked. "Why did you help us at all? I understand that you could have just raided us and taken what little money and supplies we have but instead you made a big show of it and helped the whole village."

"It's because, even though I don't belong with my own kind," Chao Shi started, "I can't deny that that is exactly what you are, my own kind. I can't turn a blind eye to people who are in need. If I did that I would be no better than my old family."

Kanja hesitated. It all made a lot of sense in Chao Shi's mind but could a woman like her understand. Perhaps she could, because she nodded slowly. "You're right. You wouldn't be any better if you could turn a blind eye to your own kind." Kanja scooted a bit closr, Lu Bei having finished cleaning Chao Shi's hands and moved to Kanja's lap, starting to lick her hand next. She tried to move but Chao Shi put his hand on her lap. "What's he doing?" She asked.

"He thinks it's his job to keep people clean." Chao Shi said with a grin

"But," Kanja spoke up, "I took a bath before the party."

Chao Shi scoffed. "Let a human clean themselves? Obviously you don't know the festidious nature of Pygmy Pumas. No human could possibly understand their methods of cleaning because humans don't know how to stay clean." Chao Shi gave a laugh and found Kanja laughing next to his. Perhaps she understood what he was talking about. "Just let him do what he's doing. He'll use claws if you try to pull away and it would be a shame for such a beautiful young woman's skin to be marred by a puma scratch."

Kanja nodded. "Hey Chao Shi?" Chao Shi made a noise of recognition. "Would it be too much to ask.. to come with you?"

"Why on earth would you want to do that?" Chao Shi asked with a grin.

"It sounds fun, amazing, fantastic. You must see so many special things that normal people wouldn't."

"Not like I travel by sky bison." Chao Shi admitted. "I still see anything you would, just a lot more in a lot less time."

"But I want to see those things as fast as you do. I want to travel the world."

"And do what?" Chao Shi lashed out a bit. He was beginning to tire of these questions. Kanja recoiled a bit from the harshness of his speech. "Do you have an actual reason to leave this place? Everywhere else is just like here. Sure, there's a lot of water west of here called the ocean. There are mountains to the north and a huge swamp to the east. However, they're not that spectacular. Why do you want to travel with me, Kanja? Is it just because you're bored of this town? Is it because you want to sleep beside me at night and lay on Ton Bao's back during the day while we travel? You're an earthbender but your head is in the clouds. There's no reason to leave this village... at least not until you find one that is worth something. Rocks stay rooted to their place and as an earthbender you should learn from the materials you use to rise above moving targets like myself!"

Kanja gave a look of hurt, a look that made her seem like Chao Shi had just stabbed her in the chest with a wooden stake. Chao Shi realized just what he had just said. "Is that what you really feel, Chao Shi?" Kanja asked. "Is that what you think about us earthbenders, about people? You just move along and leave everyone behind that you can. Are animals all you care about?"

Chao Shi paused. "I'm sorry..." He muttered. "You wouldn't understand."

"But I could try." Kanja said. "I won't ever understand your hatred of earthbenders. After all, I am one myself. You're right on that account. I can't understand how you must feel, being powerless to move ton heavy rocks with nothing to support them but your own force of will. However, I can try to understand how you have been wronged. Even earthbenders like myself can be below people, even people with no bending at all."

Chao Shi gave Kanja a look. "And what if I said yes to your joining me?" He asked. "What would you do when I found the Lion Turtle? I don't think you would be able to handle it. You also have to remember... on the road I travel there's no time to relax even at night. We don't find towns for days and you would have to hunt and fend for yourself more than half the time."

Kanja hesitated. She had no answer to these questions. However, she did have more questions. "I suppose you are right... However... What about your parents? What would happen if you went back to them? Surely they would greet you wouldn't they?"

Chao Shi shook his head. "It matters not if they accept me back, Ban Xue will not. She has never had any love for me. She told me, when I left, that if I was ever to return she would take my life."

"That's horrible!" Kanja cried out.

"That's humanity, Kanja!" Chao Shi snapped back.

"What about your friends?" Kanja asked

"What about them?"

"Wouldn't they protect you?"

"Of course... But I wouldn't want them to get hurt nor would I want them to have to protect me. Better we stay away from where we aren't welcome. Better my family forgets I ever existed because Ban Xue wouldn't let them see me if they did."

Sad tears rolled down Kanja's cheeks. A look of seriousness suddenly blessed her face, however. It was a look of stern dedication and awareness. "Where was your village?"

"Three days travel south of Ba Sing Se, if my memory serves."

Kanja stood up, Lu Bei moving from his spot, pleased at Kanja's cleanliness now. "I won't follow you, Chao Shi. However, your sister needs to be set right, as well as the rest of your family. I am still leaving this village and it is to hunt down your sister and see that she meets the fate destined for her."

Chao Shi looked up and stood, shaking his head. "That's stupid. How old are you? How long have you been bending?"

"Eight and Ten, I've been bending since six."

"Then you won't be able to beat her."

"She would only be fourteen if what you say is correct."

"And she still would have more experience than you." Chao Shi said as he placed a hand on Kanja's shoulder.

"What do you... mean?" Kanja asked, confused.

"My sister showed that she could earthbend as soon as she first rolled over. A child in the cold who rolled over and took a sheet of dirt with her as a blanket. You're eighteen and have twelve years of practice in the art. She's fourteen and has just as many years earthbending."

"You can't be serious."

"I wish I wasn't... But I am."

"This is stupid!" Kanja blurted out. "There's no way any person has been earthbending as long as they had lived. I don't care if she's been bending two years longer than I have. I can still beat her."

Chao Shi placed his other hand on Kanja's shoulder, looking her dead in the eyes as he spoke next. "What kind of fool are you, Kanja? There is a reason I have long since left my home. There is a reason that she sought to rid herself of Ton Bao. Anyone who is stronger at earthbending than she is she'll get rid of as soon as she can and in the most horrible way possible. She can lift whole castles from the ground. She was already being scouted by the Earth Kingdom Armies before ten. No doubt she's already enlisted. What are you going to do idf she's a soldier? It's not like you can barge on into the barracks and take her down while she's in the company of five hundred other benders. No matter how good you are you can't beat those numbers!"

Kanja slapped Chao Shi's hands away. "You may not think so. However, as someone who you claim rises above I'll have to use my higher authority and knowledge on this subject! I'll find her and I'll claim the honor that she took from you so that she'll know what wrong she has done! Tomorrow you'll be gone and so will I!" With that, Kanja stepped out of the barn and back toward the sound of party and merry-making. Chao Shi heaved a sigh and went to sleep against Ton Bao.

The next morning the light of the rising sun hit Chao Shi hard in the eyes. It was something of a shock as he sat bolt upright, stabbing himself in the gut on little Ba Xua as she slept on his legs. He let out a grunt of pain, gently moved the still sleeping boar-q-pine to the ground beside him, and left the barn into the morning chill. He gave a stretch and a yawn, a few squats and such. He listened to the morning silence for a bit, hearing nothing at all, though this was not out of the ordinary. He decided a short walk would be a good thing. As he stepped through the village he looked down to see that Lu Bei was right at his heel. That old cat was just too enduring and proud to let a human wander around aimlessly. A member of his pride would need a proper guide or else his pitiful human senses would assure he got lost. Chao Shi gave a chuckle at these thoughts. A call came to Chao Shi's ears. He turned west to see a young woman nearing him. It wasn't Kanja. It was another young woman of the village instead. She was just as beautiful as any attractive woman, all tan and statuesque. Chao Shi stayed still as she closed in on him. "Umm.." She started shyly. "Chao Shi?" Chao Shi cocked his head a bit. "T-Today you're leaving... right?" Chao Shi gave a brief nod. "I, uh.... I want you to have something."

Chao Shi hesitated as the young woman thrust something into his hands and raced off at top speed. Chao Shi looked briefly at the item he had just received. It was a black ring, made of hard earth, it seemed. No doubt this was yet another earthbender of the village wishing to give Chao Shi a token to remember her by, though he had to say he hasn't ever seen her outside the general collective the previous night. He would still, of course, keep the ring and remember where it came from. Ever charm he had was a memory of a village or a person.

After finishing his walk Chao Shi returned to the barn he had been staying in. Everyone in the team was now awake. He spent just enough time to put a thread through his hat's brim and hang the ruing from it before starting to gather his things and a few more tokens of villagers, mostly in the form of some money and food for the trip ahead of him. This village was truly a splendid one, as far as human settlements went, that was. The people were so nice and kind here, though chao Shi shook the thought from his mind quickly enough. He had made a promise and that was that. He couldn't settle down now that he was half way to his goal. Even imagining that he had been born into this village instead of the one he had actually been from proved a saddening thought. After all, even born into this village Chao Shi would have still been no earthbender and his sister, the prodigy, would have still been born as well, planting him into the same situation, just in a different location. Before too long he was setting off and, in the distance the opposite of his side of the village he noticed a spire. Atop it was a woman, Kanja, waving to him. She was dressed in traveler's gearm, from what Chao Shi's sharp eyes could see. She was going to do it. Chao Shi thought to go to stop her but such would not be for the best. Maybe Kanja was just someone who needed to find her own path, no matter how difficult the endeavors to reach the proper road would be. It was just as Chao Shi had had it. He gave a wave to everyone and, before long, the village wasn't even in sight anymore.

The day stretched on, a long, hot day that seemed to take forever to Chao Shi, even though he wasn't actually walking most of the time. Ton Bao's steady pace was inexhaustible, even moving for days at a time without pause or rest the Badgermole had several times proven that he could weather even the greatest of endurance challanges so long as he needn't move faster than his standard strolling speed, which covered far more ground in one day than any human. As day turned slowly to night Chao Shi set up camp under a gigantic tree. The great oak provided shade as the group settled down. Everyone parted ways, for the most part. Even though they had food, at least for the smaller members of the party, everyone would still hunt or forage. Kio stayed with Weisheng near the tree. Kio was too small to afford to get separated from one of the party members and Weisheng just ate grasses and roots. Lu bei went off hunting for small mammals and reptiles. Chao Shi set off with Ton Bao for a while but the two eventually parted ways.

A couple hours into the hunt Chao Shi was stalking a nearby Badgerboar. The thing was rather large for its breed. Most badgerboars weren't too big at all, but this one seemed twice the size of a normal animal of its kind, though it also seemed twice as stupid and twice as lacking in the proper survival senses. It must have been very old. Chao Shi laid low downwind from the beast, his hammer in hand as he ducked under the tall grasses that the badgerboar dug in nearby. The thing turned around, facing away from chao Shi and started to dig. This was Chao Shi's chance. With deadly silence and the swiftness of the very quickest bird, Chao Shi charged in. By the time the Badgerboar knew that Chao Shi was around the human had already leaped onto its back and was delivering blow after hammer blow into its face. Chao Shi howled in pain after being thrown into a nearby bramble bush but squirmed out of thee bush just in time to avoid a vicious charge from the badgerboar. He jumped back onto the beast and started swinging again. The thing rolled over, what Chao Shi had hoped for. He leaped off, rolled to the underside of the beast and swung the hammer into its throat, cracking the wind pipe. Clearing the way as the beast struggled for air, Chao Shi again approached after the Badgerboar passed out. He apologized to the beast before reaching to his side for his knife and stabbing it in the jugular. It didn't need to wait any longer and suffer any further. It had put up a good fight and had more than likely lived a good, long life.

An hour later, after the sun was well gone from the night sky, Chao Shi arrived in camp, dragging the carcass of the badgerboar behind him. He started a fire and cooked the met shortly after butchering the carcass He set the useful, nonedible pieces of the body aside and buried them later and kept the useful things, like sinew, tusks and larger or harder bones. The teeth would be ground down for powder mediums for salves and the like The skull was buried. After a good meal and sharing between each other, Team Chao Shi went to sleep in the dark of night. Tomorrow would be just another day of the same thing. But at least it would be the same thing with people who were important to Chao Shi.

{HR}

There ya have it! Hope you liked the first chapter of The Search For The Lion Turtle! Please review and please don't flame about the setting. I know Avatar is set around Aang's time. I don't care XP Too many fanfics about Team Avatar exist. I want Team Chao Shi XP

Got any ideas for the future chapters? Please feel free to tell me cause I am certainly in the mood at all times of the day, week, month and year to hear new ideas for those of you who want your own little part of the story! Got a character idea that you want to insert in here? Message me and I can try to make it happen if I feel it would be a good thing ^^ Remember that any chapter IS going to include people, for the most part. I wouldn't have a sixteen page chapter wholly involving Chao Shi's time traveling on the barren plains of the Earth Kingdom. Nobody would read that XD

Yours,

Tankou001


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